Member Rating

Compare Prices on Navigator of the Seas Western Caribbean Cruises

13th Cruise with 13 People - Good times!

Sail Date:
March 2014

Destination:
Western Caribbean

Embarkation:
Galveston

This was our 13th cruise, 8th with Royal Caribbean. I am 57 and my wife is 62. This was a family cruise over spring break. We had 5 balcony cabins and 1 inside cabin starboard side near the elevators right by the Future Cruise area.

Embarkation - A breeze. Entered terminal around 10:45am, checked in, got our cards and went straight on the ship. Cabin was ready about 12:30pm or so.

Ship - Nice. We've been on Voyage Class before so we knew the layout. The improvements made to Navigator while in dry dock made the ship seem a lot newer. We've been on Oasis too so we've seen a Flowrider before. Nice addition to have on Voyager Class. The big screen on the pool deck wasn't noisy and obnoxious like it is on some ships, mainly Carnival ships. The pool deck itself looked nice. Being older we hung out a lot in the Solarium. We were always able to find at least one chair to put our stuff on. Both hot tubs were nice and not overly crowded. Pool was refreshing cool, some More
would say cold. Didn't bother us. Pool bar was ridiculously slow. One bartender on most days. Since it takes so long to make the fancy drinks the line got long. The pool bar service was quicker. The spa hot tub was ungodly hot. It took your breath away. We only tried it once.

Food - The Windjammer is the Windjammer, nothing special, but i always found something to eat. Breakfast was decent and we split lunches between the WJ and the Cafe Promenade. Did not eat in the WJ for dinner nor did we have any room service. Really liked the food in the MDR. 1st night's prime rib was really good and so was night two's roast beef. I had escargot all seven nights. The tiger shrimp and the fried cod were good too and I always enjoy lobster night. Thought the chicken cordon bleu was dry.

We had table 366 & 367 in the MDR on deck 3. Service at 366 was slow, but service at 367 was better. Jose, my guy at 366 seemed to always be a step behind. He was nice though, mixed up orders a few times. His helper, who's name I have forgotten was very helpful and quick with requests. Bar service was extremely slow in the MDR. We did not do any specialty dining, but had Johnny Rocket's once.

Cosmopolitan Club - We were up here 6 out of 7 nights. The other night we listened to the country band

in the Star Lounge. The CC was the place to be. It was lively every night though it got rolling late due to

other things going on around the ship. It was the DJ's first week onboard and he was happy to play requests. Plenty of line dances too, if you are in to that. it was our favorite place to hang out on the ship after our second seating dinner. Gabriel was outstanding in the CC, Stefan not so much. Don't think

he really liked his job.

Drink card - I was on the $40 a day beer & wine card and my wife did not have a card. I thought it worked out well, though as I mentioned the service was pretty slow sometimes. People who I cruised with had the $55 a day card and they had the same complaint about the slow service. They spent

a lot of time in the pub and said the service and the servers were pretty quick and very friendly.

Shows - We saw most of the shows. They were good, though better on Oasis. I know, we're spoiled.

Donovan & Rebecca, from America's Got Talent were outstanding, though I could have done with a little less opera singing. Their act is amazing. The Royal Caribbean singers and dancers were good enough.

The comedy show was funny, but did not see the adult comedy show.

Cabin - We had cabins 6314, 6316, 6318, 6320, 6324 and 6341. I personally was in 6318. Wayans from the Philippines was outstanding. Room was always clean, he knew our names from day one and he was always smiling. Those who wanted ice got ice as requested. Our cabin seemed spruced up since the dry dock. Everything seemed pretty much new. We had our balcony door partitions all opened up to make one long balcony. The balcony partition for my cabin(6318) sort of blocked the sliding balcony door. No big deal, but it did seem in the way. It would have been nice for the partitions to come completely off. Minor problem with flushing in the bathroom. Had to hit the button just right or it wouldn't flush. I got the hang of it, but my wife did not.

Ports - Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. Been to all of them before. Took a van to West Bay Beach in Roatan. We paid $15 per person RT for 13 people, driver waited. Somehow a "tour guide" went along. The beach area was crowded, but I had expected that. 10 bucks to use a chair and facilities at Argentinian Grill. Alcohol prices were decent too. Just went to the dock in Belize. Waited until no tender ticket was needed. All tender tickets were called in about 60 minutes, no need to rush. Went to Paradise Beach in Cozumel. I had been there before and it's a well run operation, though crowded, especially the beach. That was ok with us because we were in their giant pool. 3 bucks per person to use the place. Food and drink prices run a little higher, but I'd recommend the place in a heartbeat.

Disembarkation - Bad, as usual. Fog once again in Galveston. Been there, done that before. We waited in Studio B forever then had to deal with the madhouse in the terminal. Custom lines were LONG. it was our 11th cruise out of Galveston so we knew what to expect going in.

Overall - The seas were like glass and you hardly felt the ship. Probably one of the smoothest cruises that i have ever been on. I'd give high marks to the cabin, cabin steward, MDR food, friendliness of the crew, some of the entertainment and the public areas of the ship. I'd give low marks to the service in the MDR and service at the pool bars. The pool bar staff that walked around were slightly better. Less

Compare Prices on Navigator of the Seas Western Caribbean Cruises

Cabin review: 6318

Cabin - We had cabins 6314, 6316, 6318, 6320, 6324 and 6341. I personally was in 6318. Wayans from the Philippines was outstanding. Room was always clean, he knew our names from day one and he was always smiling. Those who wanted ice got ice as requested. Our cabin seemed spruced up since the dry dock. Everything seemed pretty much new. We had our balcony door partitions all opened up to make one long balcony. The balcony partition for my cabin(6318) sort of blocked the sliding balcony door. No big deal, but it did seem in the way. It would have been nice for the partitions to come completely off. Minor problem with flushing in the bathroom. Had to hit the button just right or it wouldn't flush. I got the hang of it, but my wife did not. Our bed, as you walk in the cabin was on the right side near the balcony. Balcony door was on the left side by the foot of the bed. Balcony had two chairs and a small table. No coffee table in cabin. We were also on the hump. Being near the elevators was convenient and elevator noise was not a problem.